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User:Catstorm/Sandbox

From The Cutting Room Floor
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images to add from this video:

  • bowsers coins
  • the newer power meter
  • a large view of bowser's sub
  • cracked walls in bowser room

demo text translation

extant text to find in screenshots:

  • "snow slider" intro text
  • entering the castle for the first time
  • clearer image of lethal lava land text

intro to game from this screenshot:

Japanese Text English Translation 
ようこそ
マリオワンダーランドへ
ぼうけんするのひとは
めのまえのおしろへどうぞ
 
Welcome!
People who wish to
adventure in Mario Wonderland,
please go to the castle before you.

entering lethal lava land: 

あ__いくす____うに
いく______じゅう
じ__う_くつ_って
しんちょうにはやく

Super Mario 64 description goes here.

Development Timeline

  • 1995
    • November - The Nintendo 64 (then known as the Ultra 64) is patented and later unveiled at the first-ever Shoshinkai show, along with two prototypes, one of which was Super Mario 64.
    • December - Initial anticipated date.
  • 1996
    • April - Second anticipated release date.
    • May 16th - A playable prototype is present at E3 1996.
    • Jun, 23nd - Super Mario 64 is released in Japan.

Conception

Hmmm...
To do:

Info to Include:

Shigeru Miyamoto originally ideated Mario 64 from seeing the capabilities of the Super FX Chip, which was codenamed Super Mario FX.

November 22, 1995 Patent Build

upload this Two images from Mario 64 are seen in the patent for the Ultra 64, of the castle grounds. This is possibly the earliest build known to the public. The level map is mostly identical to the final, with changes mostly focused on the castle appearance.

  • A black compass design is above the doorway instead of Princess Peach's image. The upper-right quarter of the compass seems to be a lighter color.
  • A large cloud separates the lower half of the castle from the tower.
  • The bridge is fairly simple, is made of the same bricks as the castle, and curves. It is connected to the main landscape by stone posts instead of guardrails.

Shoshinkai '95 Demo

Information about Super Mario 64 first leaked out in November 1995, and a playable version of the game was presented days later as part of the world premiere for the Nintendo 64 (then known as the "Ultra 64") at Nintendo Space World. At this point, the basic controls had been implemented and the game was reportedly 50% finished, featuring 32 courses, although about 2% of mapping was complete.

Being the first unveiling of Super Mario 64, it contains the earliest assets available to the general public. Visually, this version of the game has little in common with the retail release.

Players could control Mario freely in each stage and explore the castle, as well as use a stage select that used early names for levels.

Interface

(Note: The minimap interface was only seen at Shoshinkai '95. For this reason, no clear screenshots or scans of it exist.)

Nov. '95
Mario64 Shoshinkai1.png
GUI A minimap is present in the upper-right corner, similar to the ones later seen in Ocarina of Time. It can be toggled on or off.
Lives Mario's head is represented by a flat, stylized drawing, and is located at the upper-left corner.
Stars Like Mario's head, the Star counter is also represented by a two-dimensional drawing. Located at the center-right of the screen.
Coins Located directly below the Star counter. They're both at the center right of the screen, making room for the minimap.
Font A very standard bubble font with blue numbering, with the Xs being small and yellow.
Health Mario's health is displayed in a clock-like object. His remaining health is also shown in numerical form, similar to prerelease screenshots of Super Mario Sunshine and final release of Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. At this point of development, his health regenerates automatically if he is not underwater.
Camera There is no HUD for camera options yet.

Environments

Castle Grounds

Mario64 ShoshinkaiBeta2.png
  • The bridge has changed since the patent screenshot.
  • There is no longer a cloud above the castle.
  • An image of a black compass is displayed above the castle entrance. Although footage quality is poor, the brick texture is noticeably simpler than it would be in later builds of the game.
  • No wooden fencing surrounds the moat.

Castle Interior

  • The walls are dark blue and decorated with stars and moons.
  • A simple blue to orange color gradient decorates the bricks.
  • Doors to stages display white numbers instead of red numbers atop stars.
  • The room with the Bowser/Peach portrait has cracked stone walls.

The most jarring difference is the lack of stairs to the second floor area; there are only 2 big slabs leading up to the center door, likely intended to be a jumping tutorial of sorts.

SM64-Beta19.png SM64-Cvg13.png SM64-Maximum2.png

It should also be noted that the entrance to Lethal Lava Land is in the second door on the bottom-right, where Whomp's Fortress would be in later builds, and the door that would normally lead to the top floor now leads to the first Bowser battle.

Fire Bubble (Lethal Lava Land)

This map is very similar to the final - several features are present, such as Mr. I, the sliding puzzle,

  • Mario starts on a path that is positioned to the right of the arch, instead of on the left.
  • Bullies only have one spike atop their head, instead of two horns.

Snow Slide (Cool, Cool Mountain)

SM64 earlypenguin.png
  • Mother Penguin and her baby, Tuxie, have different designs than they do in the finished product: their eyelids are droopy, and their torsos are thinner. A total of three baby penguins can be seen in the demo.
  • A stone pyramid structure is behind the penguin area, which was later replaced by a cabin.
  • The slide area seen in this demo would later be re-purposed for Tall, Tall Mountain in the retail release.

Mountain (Whomp's Fortress)

SM64-Whompbullet.JPG

The layout of Whomp's Fortress is similar to the final version, but its appearance is fairly different.

  • The path before the Pirahna Plant is a red carpet.
  • The background features an overcast sky.
  • Many of the floors have circular stone textures.
  • Thwomps have a darker blue color and angrier faces.

Water Land (Dire, Dire Docks 2)

  • The whirlpool isn't implemented yet.
  • The Water Mine object that went unused in final version is used throughout the level.
  • The framerate drops heavily in the area around Bowser's sub.

Koopa 1 (First Bowser Battle)

Ultimately unchanged in appearance.

  • Bowser disappears and drops coins and a Star when he is defeated.

General Graphical Differences

Title screen

Sm64betatitle.png

The font for the "Press start" and "Game over" text on the title screen use a generic font rather than the custom font used in the final version.

Power Stars

Mario64 Shoshinkai3.png

Power Stars are two-dimensional sprites in this build, with a design similar to how they looked in Super Mario RPG. That game also started development in 1995, so they might have shared the same base model.

Coins

SM64-Maximum24.png

The coins also differ from the final. Instead of a star insignia, they have a rectangular indentation. This matches the design they had in previous games, such as the original Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World, as well as their design in most modern Mario games.

Miscellaneous

  • When Mario enters a level, he sparkles while falling from the sky.
  • Mario's triple jump causes him to twirl instead of doing a mid-air somersault.

Audio Differences

Hmmm...
To do:
Post more source sound files. The jumping clips are still not found
  • Mario's voice clips are very different, featuring samples from Warner Brothers' SFX library.
Description Early Final
Mario exclaiming "Yahoo!"
Mario exclaiming "Yippee!"
Mario taking fire damage.
  • The coin sound effect is very high-pitched compared to the final version.
  • The music in Dire, Dire Docks uses slightly different instruments.

Second Demo Build (?)

  • Mario's health meter has changed from the clocklike appearance to a more basic and linear meter.

First Release Delay

Miyamoto thought he could create more courses, up to 40 plus bonus levels. However, the actual number turned out much lower in the final game, as only 15 courses could fit.[20] According to Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln, Miyamoto's desire to put more into Super Mario 64 was a major factor in the decision to push the Nintendo 64's release date back from Christmas 1995 to April 1996.[28]

Second Release Delay

"On September 30th, Dinosaurs Will Fly!" was the slogan used to promote the new release date after the American launch was delayed from April 1996 to September 1996.

Environments

Hmmm...
To do:
Compare the assets of this build to the '95 demo. Compare and contrast the interface, castle interior, etc.

Castle Grounds

By this point in development, the compass seen above the castle entrance has been replaced with a stained glass image of the princess.

The windows and brick textures have also been updated, and wooden fencing has been added around the moat.

It is very similar, if not the same, as the finalized Castle Grounds.

Castle Interior

While the wallpaper is the one seen in the final game, the brown brick texture by the entrance is still different. Proper fencing has been adding to areas Mario could fall off.

The main staircase to the second floor is still missing, though the platforms in its place are wider than they were in Shoshinkai '95.

The final lifebar shape of Mario's head is based on the early life counter icon.

Info to Include

Footage

Images

Info

Interviews

Patents

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